The cold no longer bit.
It simply existed.
Every breath left my lungs in pale clouds that dissolved into the gray afternoon as Lila half-carried me through the snow, one arm locked around my waist while mine hung uselessly across her shoulders.
Neither of us spoke.
Not because there was nothing left to say.
Because I didn't have enough air to waste on words.
Each step felt disconnected from the last.
My boots dragged.
My knees refused to lock properly.
My chest felt…
Wrong.
Like breathing had become something I had to consciously remember to do.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Miss one.
Panic.
I swallowed hard.
Nothing about this felt human anymore.
The lattice.
That fucking lattice.
Vivian had spoken about it like it was salvation.
The crucible had spoken about it like it was evolution.
Neither of them had mentioned this.
Neither of them had mentioned feeling like your own body no longer belonged to you.
Like every heartbeat needed permission.
